[oldtrashy]

I was planning on installing my Eibach Sportline Springs today and I started on the rear because they seem to be the easiest. Anyway, everyone told me to loosen the top nut of the strut while it was still in the car because it was a pain in the ass after it was removed. I got the drivers side loose, but when I got to the passengers side, I accidently stripped out the inside of the top of the strut where you put the allen wrench. Is there a way to get around this without buying new struts or have I basically screwed myself over? Any help at all is appreciated, thanks.

 

[oldtrashy]

ok, heres my idea. I dont want to take it to a shop because I dont have the money for it. I obviously can't take the spring off without being able to hold the strut still...so, I think I could melt down some lead weights, or maybe even aluminum and pour it into the stripped hole, and immedietly put the allen wrench into the molten metal rebuilding the hole to the rights size, and giving something for the allen wrench to grab onto. This may sound far fetched, but I havent heard any ideas from you, so bleh.

 

[4DRGSR]

Hey, i had the same problem when lowering my car. I had to cut the strut to remove the pieces i needed and then buy new struts. It happened on 2 of them to me.

 

[oldtrashy]

so its come to this. I guess I'll have to buy new struts. Well, Friday I'm going on a gambling cruise with my high school buddies, lets hope I hit it big. Cause Im out of money right now. I have $200, but thats for gambling away....man, am I stupid or what.

 

[pat1115]

Don't buy new struts yet!!!

Go to your local Sears tool dept or any hardware store that has a good tool selection. Look for a tool called an EZ-OUT aka screw extractor. They come in different styles, the one that you will need will be the square type which you pound into the hole(Hehe). This type will grip in both directions, so it should not rotate when taking off or reinstalling the bolt. You need a a tap wrench or a regular wrench to keep the extractor from rotating. Because if I am correct ezout's have square ends. This type is the one I would use and you usually find them in the tap & die section.

The extractor shouldn't cost more than $5-$8, beats spending $200 buck on a new pair of struts. It's kinda jerry rigged but it should work.

Hope this helps

Pat

 

[4DRGSR]

EZ OUT prob wont work, it didnt for me.

 

[pat1115]

Quote: 4DRGSR on Aug/07/02 EZ OUT prob wont work, it didnt for me.


Just curious which one did you use? Was it the screw type, threaded but reverse thread? That one won't work, but I'm pretty sure the square type will stay. It will be a pain trying to take it off but it should work.

Pat

 

[chadm]

I had this problem with one strut. we just drilled the hole out from inside. It broke the strut, but i installed tokicos so that was not a big deal in my case.

 

[4DRGSR]

Yeah, i did use the reverse type.

 

[pat1115]

oldtrashy this is the type you should look for

I don't know what size you will need but this is what it looks like. I just linked to the site because I couldn't paste picture.

Click Here ** screw extractor **

 

[oldtrashy]

thanks, Im on my way to Sears right now. Lets hope this works.

 

[Rayn30]

Anyone have any new tricks for this? my hex hole at the top of the strut is rounded out. Thanks

 

[pochacco_boi]

i would suggest cutting off the strut or bolts...then replacing them wid aftermarket struts/shocks...

 

[Rayn30]

Thanks, i have a set of tokico illumina's ready to go on. But i have to figure out what to cut it with. Would a dremel with cutoff wheel work good enough?

 

[Sam15]

I took vice grips and lifted up the dust boot, then clamped them to the strut. Worked like a charm.

 

[timpac167]

Hammer a slightly bigger allen wrench in and hope the metal doesn't strip then. If that doesn't work, cut the nut off, but compress the spring first.

 

[Rayn30]

Yeah the spring is already compressed. That would be scary to cut the nut off without compressing.

 

[Sam15]

TRY THE VICE GRIPS.

 

[evilempire]

I had this problem last week. I ended up cuting through the nut with an angle grinder. GRRRR problems like this are a huge pain.

 

[geeforce]

I just went through the same thing with my new strut/spring install. After trying various methods of trying to reuse the stripped hex hole, I ended up cutting the bolt off with a hack saw. I had the same problems on the rears too. But for those I ended up using a Craftsman Reciprocating saw (Sawzall style) which was much easier and quicker. Why did I suddenly have the Craftsman? Because both of my friggin LCA/Shockmount bushings were seized!! Now I'm an expert at torching and cutting suspension components......Not much fun but the drop looks awesome. I'm interested in seeing how you make out with the techniques mentioned earlier. Good luck